Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori pledged Sunday to actively promote measures that would promote economic growth in the northern part of the main island of Okinawa.
Mori was in Okinawa Prefecture for a one-day trip to attend a groundbreaking ceremony on the site of the main venue for the Group of Eight summit in July in the city of Nago, in the north of the island.
During his visit, the first since he assumed the prime ministership, Mori met with Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine, Nago Mayor Tateo Kishimoto and the mayors of other cities, towns and villages in northern Okinawa.
Nago is to accept the functions of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station, currently located in central Okinawa. In return, the central government has pledged to carry out steps to boost the area's economy.